The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit
This Reading Room is a comprehensive database of published opinions written by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). It contains the approximately 1,400 opinions published by the OLC in its online database and the opinions produced in Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the Knight Institute, including opinions about the Pentagon Papers, the Civil Rights Era, and the War Powers Act. It also contains indexes of unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994 (these indexes were created by the OLC and intended to be comprehensive). We have compiled those indexes into a single list here and in .csv format here. This Reading Room also contains an index of all classified OLC opinions issued between 1974 and 2021, except those classified or codeword-classified at a level higher than Top Secret (the OLC created this index, too, and intended it to be comprehensive).
The Knight Institute will continue updating the reading room with new records. To get alerts when the OLC publishes a new opinion in its database, follow @OLCforthepeople on Twitter.
Showing 1161–1170 of 2202
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Application of § 501(e)(2)(B) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (the Act), to be codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1522, to Cubans who have received a final order of exclusion and deportation from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
7/27/2020
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Proposed trust agreement of Robert Strausz-Hupe
7/27/2020
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Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal
7/27/2020
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The President's Power to Remove Parole Commissioners
10/27/2020
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Proposed Interdiction of Haitian Flag Vessels
Proposed executive agreement between the government of Haiti and the United States, by which the U.S. Coast Guard is to stop and board Haitian flag vessels on the high seas in order to prevent Haitians from entering the United States illegally, is authorized both by the U.S. immigration laws, and by the President's inherent constitutional power to protect the Nation and to conduct foreign relations. Authority for provision in proposed agreement with Haiti, by which the Coast Guard will detain Haitians emigrating in violation of Haitian law and return them to Haiti, derives from the President's statutory power to guard the borders against illegal entry of aliens, and from his inherent constitutional power in the field of foreign relations. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22731/download.
8/11/1981
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Restrictions on Canadian Ownership of Federal Mineral Leases Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920
The provisions of 30 U.S.C. § 181, which bar ownership of leases under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 by citizens of a foreign country whenever the laws of that country deny "similar or like privileges" to U.S. citizens, reflect a reciprocity principle under which the United States would be able to respond in kind when another country restricts American investment in its minerals. Accordingly, the United States may take responsive steps "mirroring" Canadian restrictions on foreign investment in its mineral resources, so as to restore "similar or like privileges" between U.S. and Canadian citizens for purposes of § 181. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22736/download.
8/11/1981
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Immigration Proposals
10/27/2020
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Processing of Haitians during interdiction
7/27/2020
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Air Traffic Controllers Strike
10/27/2020
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Whether the United States Postal Service (Service) is an "Executive agency" within the meaning of Executive Order 12250. 45 Fed. Reg. 72995 (1980).
7/27/2020